Another one bites the dust :(

FrankJH · 31 Mar 2007 at 12:49

Every electrical / electronic item is going to have failures - no company can have 100% correct manufacturing process (and I am meaning out of the factory)

Saying that, the MS quality does seem to be below par. Whether its the power brick, mobo flexing /overheating or something else (not to mention the noise)

If the gpu is going to be shrunk in the new design along with *** cpu then these issues may get resolved but imo if they rely only on shrinking the cpu I think problems may continue.

Whether you go for the "cheaper" core or the premium it still feels like a kids toy (a little cheap and plasticy) and for £180 minimum for most customers shouldnt we expect more?

I really am not trying to "incite" an arguement or start more flaming, but thats one thing that is re-assuring about the Sony console is that it really feels like you are getting a sturdy unit - albeit for twice the price. It may be bulky (or very ugly ) to some, but the weight and construction just give the user more confidence in its life expectancy.

I really feel for the OP - having multiple die on you isnt great, especially after a relatively short space of time. I sincerely hope the 3rd lasts a lot longer

XPE · 31 Mar 2007 at 13:09

ElRazur said:
Why dont you buy the new black elite one?

Doesnt matter its made with the same hardware.

FrankJH said:
I really feel for the OP - having multiple die on you isnt great, especially after a relatively short space of time. I sincerely hope the 3rd lasts a lot longer

I wouldnt count on it, people on this board are on their 5th. :eek:

FrankJH · 31 Mar 2007 at 13:43

XPE said:
Doesnt matter its made with the same hardware.

I wouldnt count on it, people on this board are on their 5th.

So are a lot of other launch consoles that are still going though - you are either lucky or yur not

Having 4 replacements is just shocking - but then these guys are "professional" gamers I guess, so if anyone is going to stress something to its limits (or beyond as in this case) its these guys/girls

pumaz · 31 Mar 2007 at 18:16

Update.

After my research into the 360 problem (till 2.30am :eek:

) I decided to have a go at fixing it myself.

I took the 360 apart, removed the heatsinks and cleaned the CPU & GPU with turps! (the thermal compound MS use is quite hard to completely shift, (dries like plastic!)

I then replaced the Heatsinks using AS5 and cut 4 x 4mm of rubber eraser and completely coated them in in thermal compound and placed them on the 4 ram chips on the underside of the 360 motherboard. The idea being that the heat will travel around the rubber due to the thermal paste and disserpate on to the metal shell. (the idea of the rubber is to put pressure on the ram and keep the motherboard from flexing)

Once done i very carefully without moving the 4 rubbers placed the motherboard back in to possition and reassembled the 360.

I plugged everything in and powered it up and......... Bingo! it booted up, so i put Gears of War in to stress it as previously it would take under a minuite to freeze and or display the red ring of death with this game.

One hour later and it's still working without a single stutter, freeze or red light

. I continued to keep it on for another hour and still perfect

I think it's too early to say it's completely cured but it's working right now and i'll post in this thread if it stops or it continues to work still this time next week.

Bobbler · 31 Mar 2007 at 18:19

Good stuff pumaz. I had no luck with an Arctic silver replacement myself, may have to give the rubber thing a go

Johnz0r · 31 Mar 2007 at 18:21

pumaz said:
snippage

Very well done mate, just out of curiosity how long did that take? Hope it keeps working for you :cool:

pumaz · 31 Mar 2007 at 18:24

Bobbler - Try the rubber mate, that is what's believed to be making the big difference, AS5 is more of i might as well.

Johnz0r - It took me around an hour, I was lucky i had a brand new decent quality rubber and i'm no stranger to taking consoles apart

sajtion · 31 Mar 2007 at 18:32

you might as well post in this thread now http://forums.xbox.com/16/6325641/ShowPost.aspx#6325641

look at the number of failed systems it doesn't actually matter when you bought it they just break down randomly whenever

mine broke down with three red lights only few days past warranty period which sucks and microsoft asked for £85 to repair. i'd be better off buying a brand new one instead but i will wait for 65nm to come out before i buy another. i miss xbox live gaming and friends a lot

three red light are easily fixed and these guys here offering to repair it for only £45 but you would inccur postage costs also. go here to find out

http://www.totalconsolerepair.co.uk/

Meatball · 31 Mar 2007 at 19:11

You can get your current one replaced under The Sales of Goods Act .

Sales of Goods Act said:
Key Facts:

• Wherever goods are bought they must "conform to contract". This means they must be as described, fit for purpose and of satisfactory quality (i.e. not inherently faulty at the time of sale).

• Goods are of satisfactory quality if they reach the standard that a reasonable person would regard as satisfactory, taking into account the price and any description.

• Aspects of quality include fitness for purpose, freedom from minor defects, appearance and finish, durability and safety.

Judging by the amount of XBox 360s failing the product is obviously not of satisfactory quality, and it's not acceptable for a £200 console to last a year or so. I'd also get into touch with trading standards for advice

It's what we're doing with our TV which is currently bust after 2 years which cost us 2K! :mad:

They'll try and fob you off but keep going at them and don't give in. It's wise to write a letter to Amazon (Your contracts with them not Microsoft.) Explain the situation and emphasise how many consoles you've had replaced and the Sales of Goods Act.

pumaz · 1 Apr 2007 at 20:34

Just an update for anyone who's 360 as red ring of death. Since i did the fix on mine (Saturday Morning) It's been played by me and my kids pretty much constantly without a single freeze or crash.

1ofaKind · 1 Apr 2007 at 21:44

How did you get the heatsink off the CPU and GPU.

I removed the screws from underneath but the heatsinks seem fixed on super hard and wouldn't come off.

I'm willing to try some basic stuff cos its knackered atm and its a v.expensive doorstop atm.

I recon I'm gonna buy a core and get the extended warranty.

My serial number date shows -10-2005 (launch day one) and the shop I bought it from didn't want to know just advised about repairs.

McManicMan · 1 Apr 2007 at 22:19

glad you sorted it out, i fixed a 360 today that had the famous, "cannot open dvd tray problem", simple matter of open the dvddrive up and placing/sticking a small 2millimeter rubber ring on top of the spindle motor magnet to stop it magnetically attaching itself to the roof of the drive.

pumaz · 1 Apr 2007 at 22:27

1ofaKind said:
How did you get the heatsink off the CPU and GPU.

I removed the screws from underneath but the heatsinks seem fixed on super hard and wouldn't come off.

I'm willing to try some basic stuff cos its knackered atm and its a v.expensive doorstop atm.

I recon I'm gonna buy a core and get the extended warranty.

My serial number date shows -10-2005 (launch day one) and the shop I bought it from didn't want to know just advised about repairs.

You have to use a small screwdriver and pry 2 of the legs on the X retainers up and over then you will be able to simply slide off the other legs. Don't worry about getting them back on as they simply push back on very easy.

You will also need to use a bit of force when removing them.

pumaz · 1 Apr 2007 at 22:29

McManicMan said:
glad you sorted it out, i fixed a 360 today that had the famous, "cannot open dvd tray problem", simple matter of open the dvddrive up and placing/sticking a small 2millimeter rubber ring on top of the spindle motor magnet to stop it magnetically attaching itself to the roof of the drive.

Good to hear, My mates is starting to stick a bit and may need to use this method also in the future

ZXSpectrum · 1 Apr 2007 at 22:30

Not played mine in a while as i had been moving my room around. plugged it in today and started to play COD3. After a while i got screen corruption. Went into the dash and seemed ok but really bad ingame. Powered off and tried PGR3 and it was a lot worse. Powered off then back on again and got a red quadrant and call microsoft message. I have the reciept so i will be taking it back to ther store for a replacement tomorrow as its difficult for me to get it exchanged by MS. TBH i would rather get my money back and get a PS3 now but i cant see that happening.

McManicMan · 1 Apr 2007 at 22:45

pumaz said:
Good to hear, My mates is starting to stick a bit and may need to use this method also in the future

yep, dead easy, it wasn't ejecting in the vertical position but was when lying flat. Four screws just need undoing then take metal case off and then you can take the main unit out, the sticky backed rubber i used is the type you get for putting on bottom of some PC speakers as feet, so it was already round in shape so just stuck that on top and used a craft knife to trim to shape and cut a small round hole in the middle. What happens is that the spindle motor magnet becomes loose and raise up to high and this in turn when it engages the plastic round thing in the roof of the dvd metal casing won't disengage because the magnetic force is too strong and pulling on the dvdcase right through the plastic bit that its meant to release from, adding about 2mm is enough to stop the magnetic attraction on ejecting the drive. Make sure its stuck down well because them disc spin really fast.

pumaz · 1 Apr 2007 at 23:50

McManicMan said:
yep, dead easy, it wasn't ejecting in the vertical position but was when lying flat. Four screws just need undoing then take metal case off and then you can take the main unit out, the sticky backed rubber i used is the type you get for putting on bottom of some PC speakers as feet, so it was already round in shape so just stuck that on top and used a craft knife to trim to shape and cut a small round hole in the middle. What happens is that the spindle motor magnet becomes loose and raise up to high and this in turn when it engages the plastic round thing in the roof of the dvd metal casing won't disengage because the magnetic force is too strong and pulling on the dvdcase right through the plastic bit that its meant to release from, adding about 2mm is enough to stop the magnetic attraction on ejecting the drive. Make sure its stuck down well because them disc spin really fast.

Cheers McManicMan, thanks for the tip

elmuzzy66. · 2 Apr 2007 at 08:19

pumaz said:
Cheers McManicMan, thanks for the tip

don't you guys think all this is to much work for a console. i mean plug and play not plug and fix

V4NT0M · 2 Apr 2007 at 08:29

tbh its easy to prove that your goods were faulty, at least to an acceptable standard, with so many people reporting the same problem. Its whether its worth the hastle of badgering MS for a replacement.

McManicMan · 2 Apr 2007 at 08:42

elmuzzy66. said:
don't you guys think all this is to much work for a console. i mean plug and play not plug and fix

nope, find it fun and interesting and satisfying to fix someone's borked 360, they are most gratefull that they don't have to fork out £80 for a repair by MS if out of warrenty when all it is a simple fix (like i posted) or even a dvd drive swap that at the most costs £40 (if you buy a new drive), so why does MS charge £80?......rip off springs to mind